Check book



Nov. 1o, 1931. w. E. SMITH 1,831,148

l CHECK BOOK Filed May 8, 1929 Patented Nov. 10, 1931 UNITED STATESPATENT offri-cli'.

WALTER EL SMITH. orV HINsD-ALE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR To COMPANY, 0F NEWYORK, N. Y., A ooRPoRAfrroN New vom;

CHECK 7399K V,I kpplieation filed May 8, 1929. Serial No. 361,281.

is called two or more on, since the construc-V tion of pocket, orone-on, check books is not such as topermit the utilization of stubs towhich the checks are attached,'and the size and weight of such pocketcheck books is so small as to eliminate the conditions present in thelarger check books. i

The invention further contemplates the production, as anarticle ofmanufacture, of a check book in which each of the sheets has two or moreon, wherein the printed sheets are carried by a non-flexible base andmounted thereon in a manner to permit a complete reversal of each of thesheets, which base is adapted to be temporarily mounted in a cover.

By this construction, the cover itself may be used with a large numberof replacement units, thus avoiding the wastagedue to the permanentconnection of the cover to a delinite number of sheets.

With the above conditions in mind,'l have provided a check bookcontaining a hinged cover, and a separable sheet r.nit,`whieh'partsvv 35may be so connected as to permit the opening of the cover and the :treeturning oi the sheets Without disturbing the relation of the cover andthe sheet unit, the manner of connecting the two being such'thatwhilethe book is in use, there can be no accidental separation of the coverand the sheet unit.

In the book of my invention, the various sheets are so assembled in thesheet unit as to be permanently ,associated with each tithe-nl whilepermitting the stub sections from which checks have beendetached, to bemoved away from full sheets, those containing unused checks, and laidflat upon the front cover without turning 0r buckling Such full Sheets,

and lpermitting such li'ull sheets to continue to lie perfectly Hat uponthe back cover.

The manner of connecting the superimposed sheets of the sheet unit issuch as toy facilitate the assembly of this unit and secureV asufficient degree of permanency therein to preclude the possibility ofthe removal of a sheet except as a result of the mutilation thereof. y

While thesheet unit is positioned in rela; tion to the cover by means ofa tongue thereoncofo'perating with a pocket formed with.- in the backboard of the cover, I supplement this means of. connection byinterlocking members carried by the .back board and the sheet unitpreventing the accidental with# drawal of the tongue upon the latterfrom the pocket inthe `former.`

The various devices employed for-associate ing the sheets and forsecuring them to the cover are so constructed and assembled in the sheetunit structure, as to not only avoid in jury to the cover, but to be soinclosed by the cover as to book is laid. Y

The construction of the check book of my invention not only has theadvantage that the cover may be used with a large number .of re-` fillcheck units, thus effecting a saving to dis: tributors of such booksbecause of the rela.: tively lower cost of the refills than of com.-lpletely bound books, made in large quantities in .anticipation of theneed for same, whichv will permit of quantity production, andcorresponding sav:

ing, and the sheet units may be printed andV assembled as required, bylabor unskilled in the book binding art,

,While a check book embodying the invention, as a complete unit, isrelatively more costly than permanently bound books, the sheet unititself can beproduced at a very much lower cost than a permanently boundbook, units with the same cover .will be very much less costly than thesame number of permanently bound books.v Furthermore, this result can be.secured and still enable a bank t0 furnish a better grade, moredurable, @ever protect a desk upon which the but the covers may be sothat the' use of a. number of Asuch' AMERICAN BANK Nera f than ispermissible with permanently bound books.

The inventionconsists primarily in a check book embodying therein a.cover comprising a back strip having front and back boards hingedlyconnected therewith, a sheet unit having a non-iiexible base, spacedrigid loop members permanently secured to said base, a plurality ofcollated sheets having openings therethrough slidably mounted upon saidloop members, and means detachably connecting said base with said backcover board; and in such other novel features of construction andcombination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described, andmore particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended. l

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a condensed view of an open check zbook embodying theinvention, the folded position of one of the stubs being indicated indotted lines;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view upon the line 2 2 of Fig. l withthe sheets removed;

Fig. 3 is a view showing a condensed fragmentary portion of the bookproper, with the sheets of the unit removed;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and YFig. 5 is a detail view of the loop mechanism alone.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the vembodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, I form thecover of a back strip a, a front board b rand a back board c, theseparts being hinged together so as to permit them all to be positioned inthe same plane when the book is open.

The back board c is provided with a pocket forming sheet (Z, adjacentbut spaced from the back strip a, and between this pocket and the backstrip said back board has secured thereto a reinforcing strip e,carrying one member f of a snap fastener. Of course a plurality of suchfasteners can be used if desired, but, as will more fullyappearhereinafter, one is suflicicnt to secure the desired Y result.

This cover may be made of any desired material, either flexible orrigid, and may be decorated or lettered as desired.

Detachably secured within said cover is a sheet unit consisting` of aplurality of collated sheets g, each of which includes two or more checkforms detachably connected with a stub common to all such forms, saidsheets being mounted upon a base, formed of superimposed plies h Vand hof cardboard or i other suitable material by means of a plurality ofloop members to be hereinafter described. Each of the sheets g isprovidedV with openings g corresponding in numberwith, and adapted toreceive the loop members above referred to. The lowermost ply 7L isprovided with a projecting tongue h2, having parallel sides adjacent theply h, adapted to have a fairly close lit with the sides of the pocketformed by the sheet d.

Carried by the plies hh is the other member f of a snap fastener, sothat when the tongue h2 is inserted in the pocket within the back board,the snap fastener members may be so engaged as to not only prevent anypossible escape of the tongue 71,2 from the pocket, but any movement ofthe base of the sheet unit with relation to the cover.

It will be noted that the snap fastener member f is positioned betweenthe reinforcing strip e and the back board proper c, so. that no lmetalis exposed exteriorly of the cover.

Two superimposed plies L-L are used to facilitate the mounting of theloops upon the base formed of such plies.

Said loop members each comprise two headed hollow rivets j-j, the headsof which are positioned between the pliesh and h at suitable spaceddistances from each other, and from the snap fastener member f', and atopposite sides of the latter. These rivets are of a length substantiallyequalling the thickness of the pile of collated sheets, so that inassembling the sheets in relation to the base, said rivets will passsubstantially through the openings g inV all of said sheets.

Seated in each pair of rivets j-j are the opposite legs of a U-shapedloop member k, which may be either of tubular metal stock or ordinaryround wire.

While the wir-e loops k may be of a gauge t0 have a close driving fitwithin the rivets j-j, to ensure per'manency in the connection betweensaid loops and said rivets, l preferably crimp the rivets firmly uponthe loops, as shown more particularlyv in Figs. 2, 4 and 5 of thedrawings. Itis not the purpose of these loops to permit the removal oraddition of sheets g, th-e sheet unit being a permanent structure' whenonce assembled.

In order to permit the crimping of' the rivets j-j upon the loops 7c, itis necessary to slide substantially all of the sheets about the loops 7cto upon the rivet j', to permit access to the rivet for crimpingpurposes, the rivet j preferably being crimpedprior to this movement ofthe sheets.

In the accompanying drawings, mindicates the covering material for thefront and back boards and c, which also form the hinge sections betweensaid beards and the back strip a, the edge of said material also formingedge binding securing the pocket forming sheet Z in position upon theback board b.

VThe manner of use of a book embodying the'invention is substantially asfollows:-

The cover structure and the sheet units movement of the sheet while aremanufactured separately, the back strip a being of suiicient width toaccommodate the loop members 7c which project above the pile of sheetsslidably mounted thereon.

The tongue h2 of the base i-L is inserted in the pocket formed by thesheet d, the pile of sheets being positioned without this pocket. Thenthe base is so positioned, the side edges of the tongue h2 have a tighttit with the side edges of the pocket. The base having been properlypositioned, the snap fastener member f', or each of said fasteners ifmore than one be used, is engaged with the snap member f carried by theback board c. This not only positions the pile of sheets away from theback strip a so that the loops c will notl interfere with the said backstrip, but prevents the escape of the sheet unit while in use, andavoids tearing of the pocket.

The double hinge connection between the back strip a and the front andback boards b and c permits the front board and the back strip to lie inthe same plane as'the back board, so that the stubs may be turned uponthe loops and upon the rivets j', and laid flat upon the front coverboard, and the unused sheets remain fiat upon the back cover board. Thispermits free access to every portion of the back of the stub portion ofeach sheet turned upon the front cover and the back strip. As aconsequence, both hands may be used when filling in the stub portion ofa sheet and a check form section attached thereto, and there is nopossibility of writing thereon. This is also true as to the stub portionof the checks lying upon the frontv cover board. p

When all of the sheets have been used, it is merely necessary todisconnect the members f-f of the snap fastener and remove the base i-Lby slipping the tongue h2 thereof from within the pocket d. y

The loop members 7c may be made of tubular or solid stock, as desired.The tubular rivets j-j, when crimped upon the loop members, impart thedesired permanency of union between these parts, irrespective of whetherthe loops are solid or tubular. The rivets j -j are made of thin metalstock.

The plies z-L preferably are glued together, the head of the rivets j-y"being seated between these plies and secured in position when the pliesare connected. The snap fastener member 7" is not relied upon to connectsaid plies L-L, although it aids in this respect.

It will be noted that the base L-h forms a strong support for the rivetsj-jQ and that the manner of mounting these rivets is such that there islittle or'no possibility of their being torn from the base, ormutilating the cover in any way. It will also be noted that no metal isexposed exteriorly of the cover,

. thus precluding any possibility of the scratch- 'Eo/produce. 4checkbooks. having a cilier-l ingof` a. deskwh'ile the checkbook is in.`useiv ent number of'l sheets, it is. merely necessaryy to use loops. 1of different heig s, and4 to use,"in. the cover proper, back strips ofvdifferent widths;

Itisnot my intention to claim broadly the use of loop: members uponwhich. the check sheets `are slidably mounted, as this is old'l in: thearts. Y

' The specific' details ofy construction herein desc1ibed,rl1owever,'areparticularly desirable'in the production of a high class check-l book,the cover of which may. be used with a'number of refills, the stubportions .of the sheets beingl removable from Ythe cover with the meansconnecting these sheets, so that the user of such check books isrequired mere-.

ly to-mount completerelill unitinthe cover,

as distinguished from the mounting of such sheets in a binding`mechanism forming a permanent part of the cover.

Itis not my intention, however, to limit the inventiontoall of thedetails shown in the accompanying drawings, it being apparent that suchare subject to variation while still preserving all of thecharacteristics of the invention herein described.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent, is

1. A che-ck book embodying therein a cover comprising a back striphaving front and back boards hingedly connected therewith, a sheet unithaving a non-flexible base, spaced rigid loop members permanentlysecured to said base, a plurality of collated sheets having openingstherethrough slidably mounted upon said loop members, and meansdetachably connecting said ybasel with said back cover board.

2. A check book embodying therein a cover comprising a back strip havingfront and back boards hingedly connected therewith, a sheet unit havinga base formed of a plurality of superimposed plies of material, aplurality of pairs of headed hollow rivets, the heads of which arepositioned between said plies, a rigid loop member permanently connectedwith each pair of rivets, a plurality of collated sheets havingAopenings therethrough slidably mounted upon said loop members, Vandmeans detachably connecting said base withsaid back cover board.

3. A check book embodying therein a cover comprising a back strip havingf ront and back boards hingedly connected therewith, a sheet unit havinga non-flexible base, spaced rigid loop members permanently secured tosaid base, a plurality of collated sheets having openings therethroughslidably mounted upon said loop members, means upon said back board, andco-operating snap fastener members upon said back board and upon saidbase respectively, wherepocket formingV by said base with said backboard7 said base having a tongue thereon entering said pocket.

4. A check book embodying therein a cover comprising a back strip havingfront and back boards hingedly connected therewith,v a sheet unit havinga base Yformed of a plurality of superimposed plies of material, a

plurality of pairs of headed hollow rivets, the heads of which arepositioned between saidplies, a rigid loop member permanently connectedwith each pair of rivets, a plurality of collated sheets having openingstherethrough slidably mountedV upon said loop members, pocket formingmeans upon said back boa-rd, and co-operating snap fastener members uponsaid back board and upon said base respectively, whereby said base maybe detachably connected with said back board, said base having a tonguethereon entering said pocket.

In witness whereof I have hereunto aiixed my signature, this 4th day ofMay, 1929.

- WALTER E. SMITH.

may be detachably connected

